Collapsible easy chairs are commonly used in leisure situations within and without the home, and can be designed such that they may be folded into a compact configuration and moved to a new location. Collapsible easy chairs often include various articulated joints and may include one of many different types of locking mechanisms. As well, they may include more or less seating area, ranging from a simple seat-only design, to a complex chaise lounge design.
A collapsible chair may include a seat, a backrest, and a legrest, all supported on a base. The body-support portion of a collapsible chair, generally including the seat, backrest, and legrest may be constructed of a relatively flexible material, such as synthetic or natural fiber webbing, or it may be constructed of a harder material, such as a form of plastic or wood.
One example of a collapsible easy chair is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,926 issued to Papiernik et al., which discloses a chaise lounge-type chair that folds into and out of a relatively compact configuration. According to the Papiernik disclosure, an easy chair includes an elongated body support including backrest, seat, and legrest portions connected to flexible webbing upon which a person may sit or recline. The chair of Papiernik includes a number of hinged joints and a number of sliding joints. Given the arrangement of the chair joints and a manual locking mechanism, the chair of Papiernik may be unfolded or refolded in two distinct stages: a base-only stage, in which only the legs may be moved; and a chair-only stage, in which the backrest, seat, and legrest, and any included armrest, may be moved independently of the base.
In view of the prior art described above, a need exists for a collapsible chair having substantial stability when assembled, yet which may be easily reversibly collapsible in a coordinated manner. In addition, an improved chair may provide an easily usable armrest lock that, in combination with other features of the chair, may allow for adjustments to be made to a user's seating position even when a support base of the chair is locked stably in place.